Brienne in a Parallel World

October 31, 2020 4:33 AM

The first Russian edition of George R. R. Martin’s A Feast for Crows included two chapters featuring Brienne based on an earlier draft. A translation reveals significant changes from the final draft, illustrating Martin’s process and the improvements his rewrites provide (Reddit).
posted by adrianhon (6 comments total)

Interesting, thanks for sharing!
posted by Ndwright at 5:47 AM on October 31, 2020

I only watched the television show, can someone explain this?
posted by geoff. at 10:58 AM on October 31, 2020

That sounded lazy, I should add the translation didn't seem to really add a lot to Brienne's character from the television series or perhaps there were a couple of pivotal scenes that might have changed but the overall arch of her character remained the same and those pivotal scenes I don't remember.
posted by geoff. at 11:45 AM on October 31, 2020

Interesting that the "No chance and no choice" scene was added later. It's a fan favorite Brienne scene, the one that most perfectly encapsulates her character as the 'truest knight' struggling in a crapsack world. Keeping Hyle and Pod also gives her more reason for the choice she makes after their capture and near execution by Lady Stoneheart. She does it to save them, not herself.
posted by lovecrafty at 1:03 PM on October 31, 2020 [2 favorites]

Geoff, in the books when Brienne searches for Sansa, she is traveling with a septon, another knight named Hyle Hunt as well as Podrick Payne. She comes to a former inn that is, for all intents and purposes, an orphanage run by children. Gendry is there as a blacksmith. In the final version, she saves the kids from some of the same men who originally captured she and Jaime (at least one of whom was freed by Arya, so how's that for a connection!)

But then she and her traveling companions are captured by Lady Stoneheart and the Brotherhood Without Banners. The BWB lost their leader (who isn't quite so immortal) and Lady Stoneheart (zombie Catelyn Stark bent on vengeance) is now leading them. Her goal: to get vengeance on all the Lannisters. In the books, Lady Stoneheart gives Brienne a choice: "bring us Jaime Lannister so we can execute him, or we will hang all your traveling companions."

There is a parallel enormous change from the books. You know the part in the show where Cersei comes to Jaime as the Knight Commander and asks him to have sex on the table, and he breaks his vow by shoving the White Book off the table and having sex with her on it? In the books, he turns her down and leaves King's Landing entirely to go through the Riverlands and monitor the situation (and get the hell away from Cersei, and lowkey look for Brienne). When Cersei is imprisoned by the High Septon, she sends a letter begging Jaime for help and Jaime throws it in the fire. He is absolutely done with her.

If you wonder why book fans have BIG issues with some stuff in the series, well, there's your starting point.
posted by rednikki at 2:28 PM on October 31, 2020 [6 favorites]

I read the whole book series, but only watched the first season or so of the show. I really hate reading a sequel (or 3rd or 4th) not knowing what the story is beforehand, and it's been so long since that fifth book, now about a decade, that in order to read the sixth book, I'll need to refresh with the fifth. But to refresh my memory of that, I need to read the fourth...fuck it, I'll probably feel I have to just re-read the whole series.
posted by zardoz at 1:20 AM on November 1, 2020 [1 favorite]